Beyond the Lights
by DarkAngelOfSorrowReturns
Summary: Rowena wants to help Salazar get over his bad week. Will it work?


Notes: Villager/Muggle!AU. Lights mentioned are inspired by the Aurora Borealis lights.

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It were days like this where he really questioned his life choices. Growing up in this Scottish village, Salazar wanted to create elixirs to benefit the rest of the community. He had grown to be successful so far with his colleagues and ideas, but today...no...this week had been positively dreadful.

 _None_ of his experiments were working, and _none_ of his ideas were sticking. This didn't happen to someone like Salazar Slytherin.

He was in a sour mood, and even more so when Rowena decided to drag him away from the village.

"You do realize that it's nightfall?" he remarked, a deep frown set on his face.

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Obviously, but if I'm going to show you this, then it has to be at this time."

It peeved Salazar that he didn't know what it was. He should know about something like this. "This is ridiculous. You should just tell me where we're going so I can save you the trip of disappointment, and I can go back to my sleeping quarters."

"You'll have to wait." Her tone held no room for argument, but Salazar was going to argue anyway.

"I don't want to wait!" he exclaimed, "tell me what you're meaning to show me this instant!"

"Friends are meant to be patient with their friends," she reminded him.

"What friends?" Salazar muttered, causing Rowena to stop and look at him with a blank expression.

"Oh, wait, I forgot, you have no friends," Rowena quipped sarcastically, "my bad."

Salazar's eyes were narrowed in her direction. "I could just leave."

She stopped, releasing his hand and folding her arms. Her dark hair blew with the breeze as she gave a nonchalant shrug. "Leave then."

Salazar couldn't leave now, not with the seed of curiosity planted already. He knew that Rowena knew it as well. Bloody wench.

After more time passed, Rowena unfolded her arms, and a small smirk graced her features. "Thought so." She whipped around and continued walking. "Now hurry up before we miss it."

Scowling the whole way, Salazar followed Rowena down the grassy path. He could only wonder what was possibly this far out from the rest of civilization that Rowena _had_ to show him. How could no one else (especially himself) not know of it before her?

Of course, this was Rowena Ravenclaw he's referring to, not that he'd admit that to her face. It was petty of him, sure, but she was one of the most knowledgeable women he'd ever known that was not afraid to let others know it.

His thoughts were halted when Rowena stopped walking. He looked around at their surroundings, finding them to be at the top of highest hill in the village. She wouldn't dare push him down the hill would she? He wouldn't put it past her; she had moments of being violent in the past.

Wary of that thought, Salazar kept a small distance between himself and Rowena as he cleared his throat. "What could possibly be up here?" he asked.

Rowena held out a hand to stop him as she placed a finger on her lips.

Salazar blinked, offended. "How dare you-?"

"Quiet, you ponce. Just keep your eyes up at the sky and wait."

His brows knitted in confusion. Wait? "What…"

He trailed off as the once dark sky began to glow. Waves colored in pink, blue, green, and purple lights danced among the stars, brightening up the sky above them. From their standpoint, it was the perfect view to watch the lights.

Salazar had seen nothing like it, but apparently Rowena had. Glancing over to the woman, she was looking up at the sky with a serene look on her face.

"How?" he asked.

Rowena tilted her head in his direction. "Magnificent isn't it? I stumbled upon this sight last month, but with it only showing for a certain amount of time, I managed to calculate its next appearance." She gave him another smile. "I call it the Ancestral Lights; I thought it might lift your spirits."

A strangled noise came from Salazar's throat. It was true, the week hadn't been the best with his experiment, but he hadn't realized that she would notice.

Damn. How many others noticed?

"Did you really think that your mood swings hadn't been noticed?"

He grimaced at her ability to read him; he'd have to work on that. "Yes well, I suppose showing you gratitude for bringing me up here to 'lift my spirits' is in order."

Rowena shook her head, allowing relief to wash over Salazar. Good, he wasn't good with that.

She sat down in the grass, patting the spot beside her. "All you have to do is enjoy the lights. We'll work on the experimental issues tomorrow."

Salazar did not want to lower himself by sitting in the grass, but the prospect of figuring out the origins of the lights while having the beneficial feeling of serenity for once wasn't _so_ bad. Wordlessly, Salazar moved to sit next to Rowena, who said nothing but had a smug smile. They both knew that she had won this round.

There were no words spoken between them, but they were as obvious, even beyond those beautiful lights.

 _Thank you._

 _Always._

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 **A/N: Written for The Houses Competition and HSWW (Challenges and Assignment)**

 **(THC) House:** Hufflepuff **; Year/Position:** HoH **; Category:** Short **; Prompt(s):** [First Line] **-** It were days like this where he/she/they really questioned his/her/their life choices.

 **(HSWW) Assignment #4 Potions Task 1 - write about trying to win someone over**

 **Caffeine Awareness: Cappuccino - write a story using only two characters**

 **Lyric Alley: Feel the rush way up here**

 **Book of the Month: Celia Hendricks: (word) petty, (color) green, (dialogue) "Oh, wait, I forgot, you have no friends. My bad."**

 **Shannon's Showcase: Happiest Minute of the Week - write about someone's happiest minute of the week**

 **Cooking Cocktail - Starter Pack - Salazar/Rowena**

 **Jewel Challenge: Alexandrite - Ring: write with Rowena Ravenclaw**

 **Insane House Challenge: Character - Salazar Slytherin**

 **365 Prompts - 353. Word - Magnificent**

 **Word Count - 871**


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